1. Field
Present example embodiments of the technology described herein relate to a computer-readable storage medium having a game program stored thereon and a game apparatus, and more specifically to a computer-readable storage medium having a game program stored thereon and a game apparatus for displaying, on a display screen, a game image representing a movable object moving above a field which is set in a virtual three-dimensional space.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, computer-readable storage mediums having a game program stored thereon and game apparatuses are available for displaying, on a display screen, a game image representing a movable object moving above a field which is set in a virtual three-dimensional space such as, for example, a baseball game or a golf game.
For example, the baseball game called “Jikkyo (Live) Powerful Professional Baseball 12” marketed on Jul. 14, 2005 by Konami Corporation adopts a method for controlling a virtual camera such that, when a batter hits the ball, the virtual camera located up in the sky follows the shadow of the ball. According to such a control method on a virtual camera, an area in the vicinity of the shadow of the ball is continuously displayed on the screen. Thus, the player can watch the motion of fielders running toward the point where the ball is to fall.
Another conventional technology for the baseball game is provided by a game apparatus described in Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-137554 (hereinafter, referred to as “patent document 1”). This game apparatus adopts a method for control a virtual camera, by which immediately after the batter hits the ball, a fielder who can reach the point where the ball is to fall first is selected, and the virtual camera continuously shoots the ball from behind the fielder until the fielder catches the ball. According to such a control method on the virtual camera, the player can watch the ball from the point of view of the fielder. Thus, a realistic game play is realized.
According to the control method on the virtual camera adopted by “Jikkyo (Live) Powerful Professional Baseball 12”, the virtual camera follows the shadow of the ball regardless of the position of the ball. Therefore, when the trajectory of the ball is high above from the ground, the ball may not be displayed on the screen. The player cannot check the ball flying high in the sky on the screen, and cannot enjoy a realistic feeling.
According to the control method on the virtual camera adopted by the game apparatus described in patent document 1, the player can check, on the screen, both the motion of the fielder who can reach the point where the ball is to fall first and the ball flying high in the sky. However, the virtual camera is set so as to shoot an area above the fielder from behind the fielder. Therefore, the player cannot grasp the point right below the ball, the point where the ball is to fall, or the like. Therefore, the player cannot check, on the screen, the motion of the other fielders running toward the point where the ball is to fall, whether the ball is flying outside or inside the foul line, or the like.